A Ridiculous Miracle
by MollsWalls
Summary: The Doctor has always had a wibbly wobbly timeline and he has never really questioned it. He let it progress naturally without trying to change too much. However, when the Doctor meets Lyra, he finds that his timeline is much more... wobbly than he realized.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers! I want to say thank you for choosing this story to read. For me, I find that OCs are sometimes difficult to get used to, but I promise, Lyra will be a fun OC to get to know. I'm currently on an internship so I won't be able to post all the time or very often but I will post when I can! I hope you enjoy this story! Review with good comments, constructive criticism, or feel free to textually yell at me for making you mad via my writing. I do hope for some wonderful reactions. Thank you!**

I stared into the mirror in front of me. My green eyes, which were sometimes gray, stared blankly back. Sighing heavily, I pulled my wildly curly hair into a ponytail and left the washroom. I slipped on my trainers as I passed my room and headed downstairs. I was met with the sweet scent of pancakes and the bitter odor of coffee. Upon entering the kitchen, I found my foster father, Joseph, sitting at his usual spot at the table. He was reading the paper and absentmindedly twirling a fork between his fingers. He smiled when I entered and waved his hand at the miniature breakfast bar in front of me.

"All yours! Happy birthday, Lyra." I smiled brightly and thanked him. "It was all Lisa." He admitted.

"I know you made the coffee." I told him as I poured a cup of the thick, black brew. Only Joe made the coffee this dark. I mixed a spoonful of sugar and a bit of milk in and took a deep drink. I'd been addicted to coffee since the beginning of secondary school and it wasn't a habit I planned of kicking any time soon. I then cut into my pancakes and tried to eat them quickly.

"You'll make yourself sick, Lyra." Joe warned, not even looking up from his paper.

"I'm gunna miss my bus." I informed, my mouth full.

"Are you doing anything special today?" Joe asked, finally looking up.

"Not really," I shrugged, "Kate and I are going to that little bakery down the street from school once we get out. I'll be home around five, s'posse."

"Pizza then?"

"Yeah. Sounds great!" I said with a smile. I picked up my bag and headed for the door. "See you later!"

I popped in my ear buds and put my iPod on shuffle. I walked quickly, tapping my fingers to the beat, with my eyes on the ground. Just as I arrived at the bus stop, it pulled up. I boarded last and sat myself towards the back. I drummed my fingers quietly to a fast paced song and watched the world pass by.

I took a double take when I saw a blue phone box on a corner. I was used to seeing the red ones around. People had restored some and set them outside of shops—completely useless but historical and iconic. However, as I got a closer look, I realized it said "Police Box" on the top. Confused, I twisted in my seat but it was too late. All I could make out was the color and two windows at the top, both glowing brightly.

~DW~

"Clara!" A voice rang down the halls of the Tardis. A pretty brunette girl popped her head out of a doorway and called back,

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Clara, I need you!"

Curious as to what The Doctor might want this time, Clara stepped out of her room and made her way down the hall. In the console room, The Doctor was flipping switches and pulling levers, seeming to know what he was doing. Clara cleared her throat, attempting to get the man's attention.

"Ah, perfect. Clara, tell me, have you seen all the tourist-y things in London?"

"Uh, yeah, Doctor. I imagine I have. What are you thinking?" She asked skeptically.

"I have been to the Tower of London, I almost wrecked Buckingham Palace, and I was definitely there when Big Ben was destroyed by an alien spaceship that was covering for different alien activity but—"

"What?" Clara interrupted.

"A story for another time," The Doctor said, waving the thought away with his hand, "However, I have never actually ridden on the London Eye. I've been under it, but never on it."

"Doctor, how many times have you almost destroyed London?"

"Hush. I want to ride the eye, Clara!" He whined. His childlike face looked pitiful.

"So we'll go to the eye then!" Clara said with a smile, "You get a say every once in a while."

"My ship and I only get a say once in a thousand years. I'm starting to rethink this companion thing." The Doctor mumbled as he directed the Tardis to present day London.

~DW~

During my free period at school, I went to the computer lab. I was hopeless at typing and writing—dyslexia—so it took me a bit to find what I was looking for but I was able to find some images of police boxes. I learned that they had been used as call boxes for people who were in trouble and in need of an officer. However, as I clicked around the Internet, I found websites devoted to a man who always showed up around these boxes. In some of the photos he had blonde hair and was dressed as if he was ready for a game of cricket. In others, his hair was brown and spikey and he wore a trench coat that always looked like it was in motion. I found one website that had been updated recently. The man in the pictures was different though. He had brown hair that flopped over his eyes and even though he looked about twenty, he was dressed like my old professors. There was only one really good photo of him. In it, he was walking out of the box, his hair pushed away from his face. The note below the photo read "The Doctor, June 7th, 2011." I scrolled up and found the "About" section.

"The Doctor is a man who can be traced throughout history. He shows up in ancient Latin texts, has been found in Egyptian hieroglyphics, and can even be spotted today. Not much is known about this man. He simply arrives and leaves as quickly as he came." Disappointed with the information I had just found, I clicked around a few other websites. However, every time I went back to look at another website, it was like they were being deleted. After half an hour of looking, there were no websites for me to find. They were simply gone.

"What the…" I muttered, shaking my head. I'd never seen anything just disappear like that. I closed out of the search engine and grabbed my bag. It is my birthday and I have to go to calculus. Now that was worse than disappearing websites.

~DW~

The Doctor could feel something tickling his chin. Still mostly asleep, he shifted his head but that didn't help. He wiggled his chin around, attempting to not move too much but nothing worked. Finally, he opened his eyes and saw a beautiful mass of curly dirty blonde hair. For a moment, he panicked, wondering what in the world had happened to him this time. However, shortly after taking a deep breath, he recognized the mass of hair in front of him. It was River Song, his wife, his world, his most infuriating companion and equal. The Doctor carefully brushed River's hair away from his face, deciding that he would not move until she awoke. He was comfortable anyway. Really, nothing felt better than being wrapped around her.

When she finally stirred, The Doctor brushed her hair away from her neck and planted light kisses on her soft skin.

"Hello sweetie." She mumbled.

"Morning Doctor Song." He said with a smile. River rolled over so that she was facing him. Even in the morning, she looked like a goddess.

"You know, I really should get my last name changed." River said with a sly smile.

"I don't have one."

"Well your first name is a mouthful. A lovely mouthful." She added when The Doctor shot her an offended look.

"Sorry honey, old Gallifreyan. No need for last names when no one has the same name."

Instead of protesting, River simply nuzzled into The Doctor's neck.

"So, Doctor Song, how are we going to top yesterday's… adventure?" He said mischievously. River sat up on her elbows and set herself over The Doctor.

"Mmm, I have some ideas," She said. Slowly, she lowered her face until her lips were lightly brushing his. "Sweetie."


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor poked his head out of the Tardis. Confused, he checked his watch.

"Oh bugger." He cursed.

"What, what's wrong?" Clara asked, trying to peek over his shoulder.

"Well, I'm sure I put the proper coordinates into the Tardis," Clara shot him a skeptical look, "and she brought us to where we wanted to be, but twelve hours early."

"Does she do this often?" Clara asked, giving a wary look to the machine that never seemed to like her.

"Well…"

"What?"

"Once," The Doctor started, "I meant to land in the same spot, just twelve hours after leaving, but instead, it was twelve months. I'll never live that one down."

"With that track record, I'd say we have twelve hours to kill, Doctor." Clara said cheekily. The Doctor simply smiled, straightened his bow tie, and stepped out of the Tardis. Clara followed and began suggesting things they could do for the next few hours.

~DW~

As I sat in my favorite bakery with my closest friend, I found myself doodling on a napkin. I glanced up when a cupcake was set in front of me.

"Here you go!" A cheery voice said. Kate sat down across from me and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. "A birthday cupcake just for you!"

"You're brilliant, you are." I immediately dug into the little cake.

"What were you drawing?" Kate asked, her mouth full of cake and icing.

"Uh," I glanced down, looking at the circular designs. Circles ran across each other, sat inside each other, and had lines crossing them at random points. It was nothing special; just a bit of geometry. "Circles."

"Cool. So, what are you doing tonight? Because Andrew and I were gunna go out and David is coming and I thought maybe you'd want to come because, you know? David."

"Kate," I sighed. "I'm not interested in David. He's nice and all but I don't have the time. I need to focus on school. I can't let my grades slip."

"You're getting into Cambridge. Quit worrying." Kate ignored my huff of annoyance. "It would take an act of Satan for your grades to slip."

"Also, now that I'm out of the system, I can start working to repay Joe and Lisa—"

"They are not going to accept your money."

"Well I also need to save up for school." I said pointedly.

"You'll get an archery scholarship." Kate said, completely focused on her half eaten cupcake. "And even though they don't have to, Joe and Lisa love you and they are paying for some of your school."

Instead of responding, I picked at the cupcake. When I first came to live with Joe and Lisa, I was sixteen and had been moved to London to attend a private school. They had been granted the responsibility of taking care of me until I moved to university. Even with two younger foster boys in their home already, Lisa and Joe had taken a special liking to me. They had given me everything I needed to succeed and had even paid my application fees and testing fees. They had been great to me but I still felt like I wasn't worth it at times. It had been hard for me to do well in school. My dyslexia didn't rearrange words and numbers. Instead, it made them twist together in different shapes that were not even letters. I'd worked my ass off to attend the special school in London and I'd worked even harder to stay there. Now, I would be in the top ten in my class. Every night before bed, I would pick out a star to wish on. I'd wish for success and scholarships, and sometimes, when I felt really low and lonely, I'd wish for family. Joe and Lisa loved me and I loved them, but I wished for something that felt like… well… what I thought a family might feel like. Annoyance, joy, comfort, little fights, unconditional love. However hard I wanted that, though, I knew I'd never get it.

I had been left in a hospital in London. I had no records or identification other than a note that read, "Lyra, born August 2, 1994." All I had been given was a name and that's all I would ever get from my parents. At least I liked my name. It showed that my mother knew a lot about astrology, so I hoped that I got my head for science from her.

"You ok?"

I glanced up, startled. Kate was looking at me like she'd been trying to catch my attention for a while.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry."

"As I was saying, Andrew and I—I suppose sans David now—are going to the eye because there's gunna be a little fair tonight." Kate pushed her crumbs around before adding, "I wish you would come."

"I'm sure you'll have a good time. I have pizza and homework waiting for me. I can't abandon them now." I joked. It got a smile out of Kate. As if finally satisfied with my declination, Kate launched into a story about the latest drama within our friend group. I am always a good listener when Kate talks about the current state of this couple and the unbelievable thing that person did. Today, though, my mind drifted elsewhere; it was on a blue box and a collection of websites that just disappeared.

~DW~

I got off my bus one stop early, intending to go take a look at the blue box I had seen this morning. At first, I thought I got off the wrong stop, because when I reached the street the box was supposed to be on, it was gone. I walked all the way around the block just to make sure I didn't miss it, but I was sure this was the street. It had been very near the corner so I made my way to where it had been that morning. Instead of the box, I found myself looking at a specialty teashop. The sign in the window read open so I took a deep breath and went inside.

It smelled wonderful; sort of bitter yet sweet. It was warm and dry and cozy. I wondered why I had never made it in here before. I love tea and this really wasn't that far from my house. If I didn't leave with a little treat today, I knew I'd be back.

Chest-high shelves that were stacked with jars of tealeaves surrounded me. Some jars had full leaves while others had already ground black and brown flakes in them. Other shelves had honeys and sugars and spices that could be added to the teas and the back wall was completely covered by kettles and teapots and saucers and plates. Some were plain white porcelain while others were painted with gold accents and had ornate floral handles. Next to this wall was the counter, and behind it, I could see a curtain that led to the back room. I cleared my throat, hoping the shopkeeper would hear me. I immediately got the result I wanted. A small elderly woman appeared from behind the curtain as if she were the Wizard of Oz. Her hair was gray but still looked strong and soft and it was pulled back into a loose bun. Laugh lines surrounded her eyes and the lines around her lips displayed the same history of happiness and humor. She smiled brightly and said,

"Welcome to Royaltea. How may I help you?"

I smiled at the clever name.

"I actually have a question you might not be able to answer." The woman smiled anyway, prompting me to go on. "This morning, there was a blue box outside of your store. Where did it go?"

I could immediately tell she knew what I was talking about. If I had one true talent, it was reading peoples' faces. Her face jumped from curiosity to suspicion to panic to calm almost before I could see.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about." She said slowly. I hated to be pushy but I could see the lie.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but I think you do."

~DW~

Clara was being dragged through a crowd, her hand intertwined with The Doctor's. She laughed every time he looked back at her, his face plastered with excitement. "… And then, they flew their ship right into the tower! Really, it was just a distraction for another alien plot. And no one even remembers it!"

"I don't. I've never noticed any alien activity until a few months ago when a weird monk showed up at my door."

"Well, I did reset the universe." The Doctor said smugly. "Several times."

Clara stopped suddenly, causing The Doctor to jerk backwards.

"Should you really be talking so loudly?" She whispered.

"Oh Clara," He said, taping her nose with his finger, "You humans are so oblivious to everyone around you."

"And you?"

"I see everything. I see every star and know its name. I see alien races and know their history, their beliefs, their strengths and weaknesses. I see the great strength in the human race."

"And what is that, Doctor?" Clara asked.

He smiled, "You never stop. You never give up. You will continue to live on until the end of this universe."

"How do you know that?"

"Seen it!" He replied cheerfully. He grabbed her hand and pulled his impossible girl along.

Little tents surrounded them. The vendors were selling food, homemade gifts, and all sorts of things. The Doctor stopped at a table that had brightly colored knit bowties. Clara continued, having no interest in encouraging his bowtie fascination, and found a booth full of sugary treats. Normally, Clara did not have much of a sweet tooth but this booth was completely packed. People were practically throwing money at the man and woman who worked the register. Tempted to try one of the sweets, Clara moved to pick up a pecan cluster.

"Don't." The Doctor said, grabbing her wrist. His eyes were serious and dark.

"Doctor, what's wrong." Clara asked. Her wrist was beginning to hurt because he was holding it so tight.

"These are not human sweets. Look." He pointed to a banner that was hung over the register. Clara had not noticed it when she had walked under the tent, but now, she watched as the logo on the sign transformed from an ornately decorated square into words. It read, "The Human Mind Project."

"Doctor… What's going on?"

"Nothing good."

~DW~

River slammed the Tardis door shut and leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. The Doctor was already working to move the Tardis. Seeing him fumbling, River moved to help him. Together, they piloted the Tardis to the vortex, where they set it in neutral. River watched as The Doctor rested against the console. His eyes were shut, his hair was in his face, and his bowtie was askew. River rarely did anything subtly or softly, but occasionally, when her Doctor needed it, River was gentle. She took her husband's hand and placed her free hand on his cheek.

"Doctor," She said quietly.

"Hmm?" He opened his eyes and looked at River. "Are you ok? Were you hurt?"

"No sweetie." She informed. "How are you?"

"I didn't save them all." He said, his voice breaking.

"Sometimes, you can't."

The Doctor looked at River. She was always honest with him. Rule number one never applied to her.

"Why?" He shouted suddenly, turning away from River and kicking the console. "Why can't I save them all? Adric, Donna, Amy and Rory." As The Doctor shouted, he roughly ran his hands through his hair.

River could only watch as The Doctor struggled within himself. It wasn't often that he lost control of himself like this, but when it did, River could only stand back and watch. Even she shouldn't reach him when he was curled this far into himself. Instead of trying to comfort him, River made her way to the Tardis kitchen. She put a kettle on and set out a teacup and bag for The Doctor. She knew he would make his way in here, she just didn't know when.

"Keep it hot for him." River told the Tardis, patting the wall. The machine responded by humming to her softly.

Later on that night, as River sat in the library reading, he came in, teacup in hand. He didn't make eye contact. Instead, he glanced at the book River was reading and then back to his tea.

"I'm sorry, River. Sometimes I can't… I can't control it."

"I know, sweetie." She said, standing up and moving towards him. "This is why you can't travel alone. I've told you—"

"Please," The Doctor begged, his voice shaking, "Please travel with me."

River sighed. Now it was her turn to look away.

"I can't. Our timelines were never meant to be linear."

"Time is wobbly for a reason." He protested.

"Ha," River said, smiling at him. "No time line should be as wobbly as ours." River kissed The Doctor's forehead and said, "Come now, we did a lot of running today. I want to relax."

The Doctor took a sip of his tea. "I've been dying for a swim."

"Love, don't you mean you'd regenerate for a swim?" The Doctor rolled his eyes and smiled slyly at River.

He tapped her nose and said, "No diving off a building this time."

~DW~

"You're an observant one, aren't you?" The elderly woman said.

"I've spent a good deal of time watching people."

"Well, come along then. I've a story to tell." The woman motioned for me to follow her behind the counter and then through the curtain. The backroom was small and full of boxes. The only clear space was a little table that had three mismatched chairs and a chipped tea set. The woman sat down at the table and invited me to join her. When I did, she introduced herself.

"My name is Maria. And you are?"

"Lyra."

"Like the constellation." She confirmed with a smile. "Well Lyra, what do you want to know about the blue box?"

"Well, I don't just know about the box." I said. I reached into my backpack and pulled out a notebook. Earlier in the day, I had sketched the box and the man who traveled in it.

"So you know about The Doctor too, then? Well, that makes it a bit easier." Maria sighed and then stood and busied herself making tea. "I met him when I was young. London was under attack and I was taken hostage, like a lot of people. However, he rescued us. He took a special liking to me, I suppose, because when he comes to London now, he always comes to get his favorite tea." She lifted a bag and showed me. "I'm making some for you, if you don't mind. I want you to really understand him if you're looking into it. The Doctor is not someone who becomes attached unless you are special. He only goes back for a select few. You need to know that before you go looking for him. He will hurt you. He doesn't mean to but that man will break you heart."

Maria moved to the other side of the room, where a small desk sat, piled high with papers. She opened a drawer and dug around for a bit. She then pulled out a photo and handed it to me. It was black and white and frayed on the edges with age. It was of two people in front of the police box. The woman was obviously Maria. I could recognize her soft kind eyes and the familiar part in her hair. She had been beautiful. The other occupant of the photo was a man who I vaguely recognized. The hair was floppier, the jacket was shorter, and the smile was brighter, but this was the same man. The way his eyes were looking at the camera, it looked like he was looking at me. His eyes were dark, shaded by a brow that sat right over them. His jaw was sharp and his lips were thin but his face was still soft. He looks approachable, kind, even childlike.

"He's so young." I murmured.

"Oh, but he's not." Maria said, setting a steaming cup before me. "This photo was taken sixty years ago. Look at your drawing."

I glanced down at my notebook and realized she was right. My sketch looked similar to the photo. He looked like he had not aged a day.

"How is that possible?"

"He is a time traveler. Not just that, though. The Doctor is immortal."

"Ok, then." I said, shoving my notebook in my bag and standing to go. "Thank you but—"

"Wait." Maria, said, reaching across the table to grab my wrist. "You probably think I'm a batty old woman, but Lyra, I am telling the truth. I have proof."

Maria went to the desk where she picked up a smart phone. She clicked around on the screen and handed the phone to me. A picture was displayed. It was similar to the picture I had just looked at, but this had been taken today. This morning, even, I noticed as I looked at the date. Maria was smiling, arm in arm with The Doctor.

"He was here this morning?" I asked. "He came into your shop this morning?"

"Yes. Like I said, he always stops to see me." She nudged the cup towards me, "Here, try this. It's his favorite."

I took a sip.

"It's bitter. Very bitter. But there is sweetness to it too." I took another drink. I liked it.

"The Doctor is like that. So dark, so old." I could see Maria's mind drifting away to another time. She seemed to shake out of it and smiled brightly at me again. "But he is also the kindest person you will meet. He will help the helpless and defend the ones he loves until he dies."

"So… This Doctor," I said slowly, trying to sound casual, "Is he still in London?"


	3. Chapter 3

It had been sunny all day. When I walked out of Royaltea, it felt like the warm dry air of the shop had followed me outside. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it felt too perfect. Even for it being a nice day, no one was out. That struck me as odd. I checked my phone for the time, wondering if I had been in the shop much longer than I thought. No, it was 4:15. There should have been children walking home, mothers walking to the market for tonight's cut of beef, men driving their cars and shouting at each other.

As soon as Maria had told me where I could find The Doctor, I made the impulse decision to find him. I didn't even know why I was doing this. I was following a mystery in a blue box. I looked at the piece of paper in my hand. Maria had given made me a copy of the photo of her and The Doctor. I knew having a clear image of him would help me when I would actually go looking for him. His image was already etched into my mind but I was glad to have the photo simply to look at him. Maria had told me about his old eyes and I could see it now. He dressed like a tenured professor, had the face of a child, and eyes that had seen the beginning and the end. I could see why Maria was enraptured with this man. He was irresistible and mysterious and, apparently, capable of taking you anywhere.

Shaking my head, I took a moment to be responsible and pulled out my mobile.

"Hello birthday girl!" Lisa said brightly.

"Ha, hi Lisa. Thanks."

"Will you be home soon?" She asked. I could hear my two foster brothers in the background. It sounded like they were shouting at some video game.

"Actually..." I started.

"Let me guess," Lisa said. I could tell she was smiling. "You're going out with friends."

"Yeah. I'm really sorry if this messes your plans up."

"That's just fine, Ly. Joe and I thought you might change your mind. It's your birthday; have fun."

"Thank you, Lisa. I'll be home later. Around nine maybe."

"That sounds good. Just let us know what you're up to."

"I will." I promised. "See you later."

Next, I called Kate, asking when she was headed to The Eye.

~DW~

It was crowded. Extremely crowded. I felt a bit claustrophobic as I moved through the mass of people at the fair. The Eye loomed over us all. It was not yet lit but once the sun set over London, it would appear as bright as a Christmas tree. As I looked around, I knew where all the people who should have been in my neighborhood had ended up. This fair wasn't attracting just families; every type of person was here. Age, race, or economic background didn't matter because just about everyone in London was here and the were all congregated in one place.

"Lyra!" I saw Kate waving at me from the same tent where half of London had gathered. There was some sort of line that twisted away from the tent and down the road. I could see a few people standing behind a counter, which was really just some tables topped with with an old cash register. They were exchanging notes and handing customers their orders. It was an organized chaos that I knew would drive me mad if I had been the one handling all the customers.

"Hi! Hey Andrew." I said, greeting Kate's on-again off-again boyfriend. Andrew and I had a respectful but rather distant relationship. "Where's David?"

"He has a test to study for." Andrew told me. He shrugged and took a bite of a round, textured, brown candy. It looked a bit like a crispy toffee but it was thin and about the size of a soda can lid.

"See, you'd be perfect. You both love studying and homework and extracurricular activities." Kate laughed. She was half-joking. I just rolled my eyes.

"What is this?" I asked, gesturing to the tent and the mass of people.

"It's this little sweets business." Kate said between bites of her own sweet. "It's really good. Like, addicting. Here, try some." Kate shoved the sweet in my face.

"Ah, no thanks." I pushed her hand away. "Not hungry."

"Your loss." She said with a shrug. Andrew tapped Kate on the shoulder and told her he was going to buy more to take home to his family.

"Let me see that, actually." I grabbed the now empty wrapper out of Andrew's hand. "What is this company name?" I asked, twisting the label in my hands. "The Human Mind Project? What the hell?"

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked, looking at her own wrapper. "That's not on here."

"Look here, Kate," I pointed to the words.

"Are you drunk? It's just a fancy square."

I looked at Kate, extremely confused. Andrew's wrapper clearly said "The Human Mind Project." Kate's did, too. It was as if something was keeping her from seeing the words. For a fleeting moment, I thought maybe it was like one of those colors tests that are given to pilots. I wanted to hit myself when I noticed the wrappers were black and white. Kate didn't even notice the little battle that was raging in my head. She was already eating another sweet. Suddenly, I slapped it out of her hand and threw it in a rubbish bin.

"What the hell, Lyra?" Kate gasped, looking close to hitting me.

"Kate, I know you don't believe me, but this wrapper says Human Mind Project. What the hell is that?" I shook my head and handed her my wrapper. "Here, where you see a fancy square, I see something very suspicious. I swear I am not crazy."

"I don't think you are."

I was confused. Those words had not come from Kate's mouth. She was too busy biting her lip to keep from shouting—a regular habit of hers. She was looking over my shoulder, her eyes narrowed. I followed her gaze. Behind me was the man with ancient eyes. His hair was gelled back but still full and floppy. He wore a green coat with a purple bow tie and vest. His old eyes were narrowed, just like Kate's had been.

"You can read this?" He asked, waving the wrapper around. His voice wasn't low, as I had been expecting. Instead, it sounded young and almost vulnerable.

I nodded, unable to speak.

"Well then, it looks like I've two mysteries on my hands."

~DW~

The Doctor found River in their room. She was playing with her vortex manipulator and adjusting a few wires. She smiled at him when he entered and went back to work.

"Staying busy?" The Doctor asked, taking out his sonic screwdriver and scanning the manipulator. It was functioning almost perfectly. "You could hardly repair that device any more than you already have. It's flawless."

"It's not the only thing in this room that is flawless." River said smoothly. "Maybe someday you will be too."

"Oi, Doctor Song. Play nice." The Doctor jumped onto the bed, causing River's curls to bounce wildly. River smiled at him but it didn't reach her eyes. Taking her chin in his hand, The Doctor gently forced River to look at him. "What's wrong, River?"

"You're too observant." She told him, avoiding the question.

"Really, River. You can tell me." The Doctor kissed River's nose. She loved their passionate lingering kisses, but this kind of affection was her favorite. Anyone could lust after someone, but to love someone was much more difficult. River was especially able to appreciate The Doctor's love because she never knew when or how they were going to meet. No matter how they met, that love, respect, and admiration was still there. Even before she became River, she admired The Doctor more than anyone else. When she attempted to kill him, he had already forgiven her. You are always and completely forgiven, he had told her on the beach in Utah. River hoped that the final time they met—the day when he would no longer recognize her—he would still carry the same feeling of admiration and respect.

"I'm just feeling tired, really. I may have a cold coming on."

"I knew I shouldn't have taken you skating." The Doctor cursed.

"Oh, no, Doctor! Don't blame yourself. We've been traveling a lot. I'm not full Timelord. I have that fragile human DNA."

"Oh, please." He said in a huff, whipping out the sonic to scan her.

"But I'm not that fragile, Doctor." River said, her sly smile putting a mischievous glint in her eyes. She snatched the sonic from his hands and tossed it onto the floor. "I think I can manage to fight off a cold." As if to prove him right, River took a big drink from her glass of water that sat on the nightstand beside her. "I'll drink plenty of fluids and eat an orange every day."

"Ha, thank you River. I'll care for you, too."

The Doctor kissed River's forehead, then her nose, and then her lips. It was only a few pecks but those little kisses caused shivers to run down River's spine.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been reading and following and leaving reviews. I appreciate it all! I** **wanted to let you guys know that I've started an internship this past week so it will be harder for me to update. I know I don't update a lot anyway but I ask that you be patient with me! I think this story will be worth your wait! **

"How can you read this?" the Doctor asked, holding the wrapper in front of me.

"I really don't know. I just can." I said, finding my voice, although it clearly sounded shaky and weak.

"Are you from here?" His eyes narrowed as he searched my face.

"Well, I was raised in Reading but I moved to London a few years ago for school."

"I mean," the Doctor looked around cautiously. A pretty brunette girl, who appeared to be with him, did the same. He leaned towards me and whispered in my ear, "are you from this planet?"

We locked eyes. I could tell he was trying to read me, trying to figure out what type of person I was. Well, Doctor, I thought, two people can play that game. He could tell right away what I was doing. If possible, his eyes narrowed even more. I smirked when he straightened up and looked back at the girl with him.

"And I thought you were odd," the Doctor told her. She only smiled.

"Oi!" I huffed. I put my hands on my hips and planted my feet. "I'm not the one dressed as a Dickens novel."

The Doctor's barely-there brows shot up. He straightened his bowtie and stuck his lower lip out.

"Well then." He pulled a strange metal device, about the size of a track baton, out of his pocket. I jumped when he pointed it at me. It made a strange whirring noise and glowed green until he turned it sideways and looked at it as if he were reading it. He leaned toward me again and asked, "what's your name?"

"Lyra."

"Well, Lyra, I'm—"

"The Doctor." I said, cutting him off.

"Oh, you just became much more interesting."

"Bloody hell, Lyra? Who is this?"

I turned to Kate, who I had completely forgotten about. She at least had forgotten her sweets, too distracted by the conversation I was having. Explaining this would be fun. Luckily, someone else was a step ahead of me.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor." He grabbed Kate's hand and shook it. She only stared. "I'm from the ancient language association at, uh..." he paused, searching his head for something, "...Torchwood. And your friend here seems to be very knowledgeable in the ancient language of the Spanish Celts." The Doctor pulled something out of his jacket that appeared to be a large business card and showed it to Kate. I glanced at it and saw that it was blank. Kate, however, was nodding and looked impressed. "In fact, I'd love to have you meet my colleagues. We're meeting downtown shortly. Would you like to accompany me and my assistant, Clara?"

I looked at Kate and then around me and I felt something inside me snap. All around me, regular people were doing regular things. They were riding on The Eye, eating weird candy, stepping in gum, buying groceries, and simply doing what they did every day. I felt like I could see the routines and habits of every person here. Some would take the main road and go to school and marry and get a job. Others would take the road less traveled and go out of their way to enjoy the short lives we were given. I thought about Cambridge and what I even wanted to do. The thing was, I didn't know. I only wanted to go somewhere that would guarantee me success so that I could be better than what I had been born into. I was an orphan. An eighteen year old orphan, too. And those were the ones that didn't matter. I was simply a statistic in the books, another child who had been passed from hand to hand, looking for a family that would at least give me what I needed. Lisa and Joe were wonderful to me, but as I looked at the Doctor, his hand stretched out to me and his eyes excited, I couldn't feel any ties keeping me here. Even Kate, who had been my faithful friend since I moved to London, seemed so far away from me now. Maybe this was the effect of the Doctor. He was just as Maria had said: a curiosity, bringer of the unexpected, and magnetic.

"I'm sorry, Kate," I said, trying to hide the smile that was playing on my lips. I took the Doctor's hand and watched as he broke into a smile. "I have to go."

~DW~

"Lyra's a pretty name, that's a constellation, right?" Clara asked.

I nodded. The Doctor was walking ahead of us, looking at his metal thing again.

"So how can you read the wrappers? Are you alien?" Clara continued.

"No. All human. Are you? That is, are you alien?"

"Ha, no!" Clara said with a laugh. "I'm all human. Well, with a bit of time mixed in."

"Excuse me?"

"Clara!" the Doctor called back, his voice warning her to not go too far.

"The Doctor doesn't like talking about all my timeline issues in public." I stared at Clara, wondering what she could possibly be talking about.

"Doctor, where are we really going?" I called ahead.

"My ship."

"The Tardis?" I asked, my voice rising with excitement.

"What the?" He spun, stopping on the spot. "How do you know that?"

"I'm curious. I go snooping."

"Oh, and you thought you'd just go around asking about me?"

"Well when you leave a big blue box in the middle of London, someone is gonna notice it," I said with an eye roll. "Besides, the Internet isn't that hard to figure out."

"There should be no record of me," the Doctor said, looking confused.

"There aren't any now. The pages about you were disappearing as I was looking for you."

He said nothing, instead pointing the metal rod at me again and checking it. He frowned and turned, walking again.

"You really know how to agitate him," Clara whispered to me.

"He's not exactly easy to deal with."

"You have to learn how to handle him. He's a bit childish when he's not on a mission." Clara and I looked at the Doctor, who continued to fiddle with the metal thing.

"What is that?" I asked her.

"A sonic screwdriver. It's like a scanner and master key in one."

"Scanner?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "When he pointed it at you, he was probably scanning you for alien DNA or technology."

I thought about that for a moment.

"Clara," I asked slowly, "if the only thing odd about me is my ability to read those wrappers, then why does the Doctor need to take me to the Tardis?"

Before she could answer, the Doctor stopped and looked at us again. I had been wrapped up in my conversation with Clara and had not realized the Doctor was now standing in front of the blue box.

"Because, Lyra, your talent to read alien language is not normal. That language is not from this world or even from this galaxy. It will be a long time before this particular race of alien is even discovered by humans. I'm not surprised they are here on Earth; probably just doing a field test."

I tried to interrupt, wanting to ask why humans needed to be tested, but he continued.

"But, Lyra, you can read this language. So, you could be from the future and you've had your memory wiped and been planted in the past. That would make you a criminal, most likely. Or, you could be lying to me and you could know you are an alien. You also could have been exposed to alien technology at some point in your life. Or, you're something else entirely. And I am guessing you are something else entirely because my sonic would tell me what you are."

"Wait. Your screwdriver doesn't know what I am?" My stomach sank so low I thought it might have fallen onto the sidewalk.

The Doctor quickly scanned Clara.

"Human." He said. "But you," he scanned me a third time, "you are unrecognized."

I looked down at my hands—which were visibly shaking—as if they would give me a clue as to what I was. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over to see Clara. She looked at me and then to the Doctor.

"Doctor, I think we should take her inside."

"Right." He said. His sudden response made it clear he had been lost in his thoughts like me. He turned toward the Tardis and opened the narrow door and Clara guided me into the little blue box. Had I been thinking logically and had this been a normal day, I would have wondered how three of us were going to fit but then I remembered what Maria had told me about the Tardis. As I stepped inside, the interior took my breath away. It was like walking into a shining new engine. In the center of the room was a circular desk that looked like a round, modified cockpit. Sprouting from the center of the desk was a large glass tube. Inside was a thinner green tube of light. It was modern, immaculate, and emotionless. The strange desk was on a raised platform and smaller desks surrounded it, wrapping around to form a large circle. Overhead, the glass tube disappeared into the ceiling where three large carousels were built down. It looked like an upside-down metal cake with strange pictures going all around. The carousels were spinning and the light in the center of the glass tube was pulsing faintly. The Doctor was perched by the desk; his arms crossed with a smile on his face. I looked over at Clara. Unlike the Doctor, she was frowning.

"What's wrong, Clara?" I asked.

"Listen." I did and all I could hear was the hum of what sounded like and engine.

"She always sounds like that," the Doctor said, flipping switches on the desk.

"Doctor, stop messing with the console. Really listen." Surprised at her outburst, the Doctor obeyed Clara and closed his eyes, cocking his right ear toward the floor near the console.

"What's wrong? Is the Tardis ok?" I asked. All I could hear was that hum.

"She's happy."

"She's an engine." I said dryly.

"She doesn't like me that much." Clara told me. "She doesn't hum like this for me. She tolerates me."

"You're growing on her," the Doctor said absentmindedly as he worked at the console. Suddenly, the Doctor rushed towards me, taking my chin in his hand and looking at my face. I flinched as he turned my head this way and that. His eyes moved quickly, examining every one of my features. "Lyra, I don't care what instructions you may have been given, but I need you to tell me something. Have you met me before? Are you from my future? Because I don't know you yet and I'm sorry."

"Doctor," I started, backing away from him, bumping into the door. "I don't know you. I didn't know that you existed until this morning."

"When you were growing up, did anything strange ever happen to you?"

"No. I was passed from home to home."

"You're an orphan too?" Clara asked.

"Yes. I started my life in the system."

"I'm sorry. I'm not a true orphan. My parents died later in my life."

"You're lucky you knew them." I told her with a smile. "My foster family I have now is great. I actually know what a family should be like."

As Clara and I shared orphan stories, I noticed the Doctor just watching me. I guessed narrowed was his eye's preset position.

When Clara and I finished, we both turned to the tweed-clad man.

"So, Doctor," I started, receiving a chill up my spine when I said his name, "Now that we know we've never met, what do you want to know?"

"I want to know exactly what you are."

~DW~

The Doctor stepped out of the Tardis. He was wearing his best tuxedo and had checked his hair more times than he cared to count. He danced over to the front door of a small house in 51st century London.

"Hi, honey, I'm home." He called as he opened the door. The Doctor was familiar with River's home. Almost every surface was covered in ancient artifacts. Some of them were his doing while others River had found on archeological digs she always took in the summer. It was early August and she should have just returned from Mars. In a few weeks, she would be teaching her second year of classes. The lights were off downstairs so the Doctor made his way upstairs to where he could hear water running. Thinking that he had arrived too soon for their date, the Doctor called out again. No response. Perhaps she was in the shower. Pausing outside the door, the Doctor knocked.

"River." He called loudly. Surely she heard him. There was no response. Starting to worry, the Doctor glanced in her room and then went back to the washroom. He knocked as hard as he could and shouted her name, trying to sound calm. Finally, he couldn't take it. He opened the door.

The Doctor dropped to the floor when he saw River lying on the floor. Her curly hair was dry and her robe was on but the whole room was steamy from the running water in the shower. It looked like she had been ready to step in the shower when she lost consciousness. The Doctor checked for a pulse and gasped in relief when he found it. He pulled out his sonic and scanned her. There was nothing wrong with River. It was as if she had just fainted.

"Oh, River." He whispered as he held her close.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again! I am so sorry this took so long! My beta and I are both extremely busy with school and my internship! I hope you all have been patient with me. It will be worth it because the story is really about to pick up. Enjoy reading and review, tell your Doctor Who loving friends, or so whatever you like. I just hope you have a good time with this story because I certainly am.**

It made me sick when the Doctor said what you are. I had never felt more uncomfortable in my skin than I did then. I felt sick to my stomach but also scared. I thought I knew who I was, or at least what I was. I thought I was human. All my life I had never felt different from my peers. At times I felt mediocre, but never inhuman. It had been especially bad before I got my dyslexia under control but now that I could read an alien language, reading English was the least of my worries.

The Doctor and Clara led me into a hall that sprouted off of the console room. We walked down a wide hallway that was themed just as the first room had been. I thought that maybe all the metal would make the Tardis cold and unfriendly but I felt warm and comfortable.

"Lyra, I have to ask, are you comfortable with me scanning you and doing a few tests? If not, feel free to say no and I'll take you home," the Doctor said as we walked.

"I want to know who I am. This might explain more to me than it does to you."

"You never knew your parents? You didn't check a birth certificate?" the Doctor enquired.

"No. I was dropped off at hospital with a name and a birthdate but they couldn't find a record of my birth anywhere. They gave me a generic last name, Smith, to get by legally and made a record of me. My mother is Jane Doe," I told him.

"Interesting," he murmured. "A child with no traceable history is almost impossible in developed countries. You are an anomaly."

"I try not to be," I said quietly, almost joking.

The Doctor turned and walked through an archway. I followed and found myself in a small lab. I looked around me, impressed and intrigued with all the Tardis had to offer. I didn't know how it was possible but it was. I was in an alien ship that was bigger on the inside. There were a few lab tables set with chairs and complicated-looking machinery mounted on top. It looked like a temporary hospital testing center. The Doctor pulled up a chair for me and directed me to sit.

"How do you feel about needles?" he asked as he danced around the room.

"I don't mind. I just don't like seeing blood," I warned.

"Me neither," Clara said. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ah," The Doctor said as he approached me again, a syringe in his hand. "Make sure to look away."

The Doctor took my arm and then turned to Clara.

"Tell a joke, Clara."

"Why?"

"Because," he whined, "you're a nanny. You must know how to entertain kids."

"I'm eighteen," I jumped in.

"Doctor, I take them to movies and chess tournaments. I'm not a clown-for-hire," Clara told him.

"Ow!" I gasped. I looked down at my arm where the Doctor was already pulling the needle out.

"I distracted you," he said with a confident smile. I looked at Clara, my face twisted with confusion and fading pain. She shrugged and poked her lower lip out, seeming to accept his excuse for stabbing me.

"Now let's test this," he murmured, carrying the syringe over to a little machine.

"Is he always just focused on his own agenda?" I asked Clara.

She looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "Yeah. But sometimes you'll come first and you'll realize just how much he cares."

The Doctor returned with a stethoscope and what looked like a tablet computer.

"This won't hurt you. Just a portable x-ray scanner," he told me after he caught me eyeing the device. He waved the scanner over me, checked the results, and informed me that there was nothing alien about my bone structure. "There are a lot of humanoid species out there. Look at me."

I nodded. I was nervous and didn't have much to say.

The Doctor donned the stethoscope and placed the little metal drum on my chest. He listened to my heart, moved to my left side, then my back, and finally placed it on my head. I'm not sure what he was expecting to hear but I let him do whatever he thought best.

As he moved to listen to my heart again, I caught a glint of metal in his pocket. I don't know why, but I just kept staring at it. A chain stretched from one pocket to another and I assumed it was a pocket watch. However, assumptions would not do for me right now. Something in me was fighting to reach out and take the chain.

"Doctor," I started quietly,

"Hmm?" he asked, not looking up from the scanner he was now playing on.

"What's that? In your pocket?"

He looked at me strangely before pulling the metal thing out to show me.

"Just an old pocket watch." He turned it over in his hand, showing me both sides of the watch.

"'Time is your lord.'" I read, "That's an interesting phrase."

"Excuse me?" The Doctor asked, looking at the watch.

"The writing on the watch. It says 'Time is your lord.' But you're a Time Lord, right? Is that an old saying for your people?"

"Yes," he began slowly, "'Time is your lord, oh Time Lord. Do not think your power is best. Time is your lord, oh Time Lord. Time will end for you, like the rest. Time is your lord, oh Time Lord. Do not think you are a king. Time is your lord, oh Time Lord, and one day your bell will ring.'" The Doctor watched me intently as he recited the poem. He seemed to be searching for something in my features.

"Clara, what does this say?" he asked suddenly, standing up and striding over to her.

"It's only circles. I can't read it."

"That is because this," he shook the watch in his fist pointedly, "is etched in Gallifreyan. This language isn't translatable through the Tardis and it died with the Time Lords. And you, Lyra—the odd, impossible nonhuman who is convinced she is human—can read this. Why did this catch your eye?"

"What?" I asked.

"The watch." He said, his face twisting in confusion. I had no idea what he was talking about. "This watch, Lyra, look at it."

"Oh." I didn't understand. In a matter of seconds, I had forgotten the watch. It was like putting on a ring in the morning and then not remembering it until you washed your hands and felt the different texture of the metal. "Umm. It just glittered in your pocket. It wasn't anything special."

"Yet you fixated on this object. Which is odd because…." The Doctor stopped. His whole body froze but it looked like his mind had shifted to fifth gear.

"Doctor?" Clara said, putting her hand on his shoulder. He didn't react.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked her.

"He is getting an idea," she told me, her eyes wide.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, turning to me and placing his hands on my temples. Then he closed his eyes and I suddenly felt invaded. My mind felt like a library and the Doctor was running through it like a man on the hunt for a specific book. I immediately closed my mind and the Doctor jumped away from me.

"Bloody hell, you're telepathic."

"I'm not!" I protested.

"You kicked me out of your mind with nothing but a wish to do so. That takes training for a human. You just kicked me out like you do it everyday."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I cried out, my voice rising in pitch as I began to feel panic rising up my spine. "I don't know why I can read that. I don't know why I can do what I do, but I'm not special, Doctor. I only wanted to meet you because your box intrigued me. I don't want to be different."

The Doctor instantly became calm and comforting. He took my hand and said in a quiet voice, "Lyra, I think I know what you are. In fact, I'm sure. But because this is a special situation, I need your permission."

I only stared at him, taking shallow, uneven breaths.

"Lyra, I don't know how this is possible but I think you are a Time Lord. I think you are a Time Lord who was converted into a human a long time ago. It's possible for things like this to happen; I've seen it before, but not on this scale. You have a whole documented life from the time you were dropped off at the hospital until now. What's more, your Time Lord essence is in my watch."

"Doctor, what is going on?" Clara asked, "How is she a Time Lord?"

"Follow me." The Doctor took my hand and led Clara and I back to the console room. He pressed a few buttons on the console and something descended from the ceiling. It looked like a metal helmet and had wires and all sorts of things sticking out from and twisting around it.

"This is the Chameleon Arch. It can turn a Time Lord human but it needs a place to store the Time Lord mind. Most often, that essence is kept in a mundane object that won't be thrown away, but it will also not be interesting enough to mess with. You can translate languages, Lyra, so I believe your humanism is beginning to wear away. I can give you two options."

I gulped.

"One is that I can open this watch and you will become a Time Lord. You'll have two hearts, a Time Lord mind, and a lot more. If you choose to become a Time Lord again, I will not be letting you out of my sight. You should not exist. The other option is that you can remain human. I can take you home and you can forget this ever happened. However, when you die, whether that be from old age, or an accident, or illness, you will regenerate, meaning you'll become a new person. You'll still be Lyra; same ideals, same heart, but you'll have a new body, new likes and dislikes, new mannerisms. And you'll be alone. An immortal among mortals. A time-traveling god with nowhere to go."

Had the Doctor not wiped a tear from my cheek, I probably wouldn't have noticed I'd been crying. I pushed his hand away and wiped the salty tears away myself.

"I don't want to be alone," I sobbed. "I've been alone all my life."

The Doctor nodded. He glanced at Clara who looked completely confused.

"She's like me, Clara," he said, his face breaking into a smile. "Another Time Lord."

The Doctor turned back to me and smiled.

"Are you ready for me to open the watch?" He asked, his thumb resting on the mechanism that would completely change who I was.

"Let me do it," I said. I took the watch from him and looked at it. If I didn't think about it, I could only see circles and lines and dots on the watch. However, when I really looked, the poem became clear. I could even read the makers name that had been etched on the loop of the chain. So I was a Time Lord, transformed into a human and abandoned at birth. I had always wanted to know where I came from but now that my past was in my hands, I was terrified. What if it hurt? What if I was simply unwanted? What if I was completely different from the girl I had become over the last eighteen years? I swallowed hard as I rested my thumb on the mechanism. I took a deep breath and pressed the button. For a moment, I could see a golden mist drift out from the watch. The face glowed and the hands spun rapidly backwards. Everything around me was beautiful… until I was hit by an excruciating wall of pain. My whole body was in its grip and I felt like my chest was being torn in two. I don't know if I screamed but I could hear a cry coming from everywhere around me.

"Lyra!"

~DW~

River was not pleased to see sun peeking through her curtains when she awoke. For a moment, she wondered how she had even gotten to bed. She had been getting ready to meet the Doctor….

She gasped quickly and tried to leap out of bed—thinking she had somehow fallen asleep while getting ready—but she was prevented from doing so by an overwhelming pain. River cried out and clutched at her stomach. It all came back to her: she had just turned the water on in the shower when she was struck with terrible pain. She felt like she'd been stabbed all over but had no wounds to show it. She had been on her way to retrieve her medical scanner but couldn't remember anymore. Perhaps she had somehow made it to bed before collapsing. No, she would not have been so tucked in if that were the case.

As if on cue, the Doctor cracked open her door.

"Hello, sweetie," River said hoarsely.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, standing awkwardly in the doorframe. For once, he wasn't wearing his tweed jacket. Instead, he was in his slacks and his button up shirt. Even his bowtie was absent.

"I'm fine," she said quietly. River, always a liar and never one to show the damage, was betrayed by the quiver in her voice.

"No, you're not," the Doctor contradicted. He finally moved from the doorframe and sat on her bed. He took her hand and kissed it. "What's going on, River?"

"I don't know. I was getting ready and I was struck down by pain. I guess I passed out."

"I found you in the bathroom," he informed her. "Once I made sure that you were still here with me, I tried to scan you but the results were never clear."

"I should see a professional doctor," River said.

"I'm your Doctor."

"That's your name," River said with an eye roll. She attempted to sit up again but another wave of pain crashed over her. She hissed and laid back down. The Doctor brushed her curly hair away from her eyes.

"River, it would be very difficult to find a doctor who knows what they're doing. You may not have two hearts but you're about as Time Lord as I am. Although, all your regeneration energy is gone." A dark shadow fell across the Doctor's face as he seemed to remember something. Before she could really read it, the look vanished and the Doctor refocused on her. "I think the equipment I have in the Tardis could do it."

"You're sure?" River asked. "How do you plan on getting me there? I can barely move."

"Well…" He began.

"What?" River said dryly.

"The best option is to sedate you." River's brows rose in shock.

"You're joking."

The Doctor leaned in close to River.

"I don't want to hurt you, River." He moved closer to her and set his lips millimeters from hers. "Trust me, I'm the Doctor."

River responded with a short but sweet kiss. She smiled and he blushed.

"So, pretty boy..." she began. For River, this was the first time she had ever called him that pet name. For the Doctor, this was the first time he'd been called that since he met River in the Library. "...how do you plan on sedating me?"

"Hallucinogenic lipstick. Worked wonders on President Kennedy," he joked, mimicking his wife perfectly.

"Oh please, I only kiss one man now. I have no need for hallucinogenic lipstick when you follow me around like a puppy." River smiled and then yawned, feeling suddenly tired.

"Well then, I suppose the anesthetic chap stick I got will work just fine."

"Doctor…" River sighed as she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


End file.
